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A former Las Vegas public works director likely cost the city "millions of dollars" by making decisions in the late 1990s that benefited developer Bill Walters, according to a Metropolitan Police Department investigation report obtained by the Review-Journal on Thursday.

Richard Goecke, who retired in early September, "did commit acts which were likely criminal in nature," the report states, but the statute of limitations has passed and no charges can be filed against him.

Details of the investigation came a day after Walters won approval from the City Council to build a 1,200-home development on the Royal Links Golf Club, the same golf course regarding which Goecke made questionable decisions in the late 1990s, according to the police probe.

The council postponed its decision to allow residential development on the course located next to the city's sewage treatment plant, while it awaited results of the investigation into why changes were made to a key engineering report on the proposal. The edited report cast in a more favorable light the proposal which could boost the land's value by $28.7 million, according to one estimate.

Goecke did not return messages left on his home answering machine Thursday evening. The former department head, who was named one of the top 10 public works directors in the country this year by the American Public Works Association, retired for unrelated reasons, according to City Manager Doug Selby.

"I don't believe he did anything," Selby said. "Knowing Mr. Goecke, I find that very hard to believe."

Walters was more forceful, ripping the report for not leveling specific charges.

"I'll certainly be more than happy to respond to any questions in regard to this report if I know what the question is," the developer said. "To put something in the report as vague as that, it's bullshit."

He added: "I wasn't involved in anything, in any shape, form or fashion, that wasn't 100 percent ethical."

The investigation also said that when the city was selling the golf course in 1999, "there were some very questionable acts by Goecke" which favored Walters and were "detrimental to other bidders." Walters was the low bidder on the 160 acres, intended to be a buffer between the city's Water Pollution Control Facility and residential development.

On Wednesday, before the council considered lifting a deed restriction to allow the residential development on the golf course land, Selby told the City Council and Mayor Oscar Goodman that there would be no criminal charges filed.

The investigation released at 4 p.m. Thursday, did not include supporting documents, including a five-page memorandum that details the possible criminal actions.

Now, at least one councilman wants to revisit the board's decision to lift the deed restriction.

"I think the City Council needs the opportunity to reconsider, after all the information we learned about in the last two hours," Councilman Steve Wolfson said late Thursday.

The council voted 6-1 to lift the deed restriction, with Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian casting the lone no vote. She was concerned the city might not be getting enough in return for lifting the deed restriction, which appraisals said might boost the land's value by between $28.7 million and $24.1 million.

In exchange for allowing him to replace the golf course with 1,200 homes, Walters agreed to pay $7.2 million and return rights to buy treated water at a cut price. The council also agreed to transfer credits that Walters received for making infrastructure improvements to another of his golf courses.

Even if the council does not reconsider its decision, the probe is sure to give fodder to Walters' critics, who say the well-connected developer usually gets good deals from governments.

Walters denied that, saying the newspaper reports ignore details that show the deals are not as lucrative as they appear.

Goodman said during the council meeting that the lack of pending criminal charges put questions about the altered report in the past. He repeated that assertion at his weekly news conference Thursday.

While the investigation was essentially completed days ago, Las Vegas police waited for a final conference with the district attorney's office before officially releasing the report. Undersheriff Doug Gillespie delivered the report to city officials on Thursday morning.

Selby said the first he knew about possible criminal activity was when he read the report Thursday. He said he hadn't seen a July 22 memorandum from Deputy City Attorney John Redlein that details concerns about Goecke's past actions with regards to Walters.

"Given it's beyond the statute of limitations for prosecution, I'm not sure what benefit would come from further investigation," Selby said.

Messages left with City Attorney Brad Jerbic and Redlein were not returned Thursday. The July 22 memo was not included in the report, and Gillespie said he wouldn't elaborate on what criminal acts might have been committed because it was outside the scope of the investigation.

Goodman called for the investigation in July, after an engineering report about the effect of development next to a city sewage treatment plant was edited to minimize the potential dangers and impacts.

The investigation, by Detective Joe Kelley, concluded no political corruption occurred between Goecke and Walters or any other city employee as the city considered lifting the deed restriction this year.

The investigation focused primarily on the 2005 proposal to lift the deed restriction and allegations that Goecke accepted "gratuities" from Walters in exchange for favorable treatment. Both Walters and Goecke denied this, according to the report.

Goecke did play some free rounds of golf at another course owned by Walters, and the developer bought the department head dinner a handful of times, the report states. Also dismissed were allegations that a wedding reception for Goecke's daughter, held at a Walters' golf course, was not paid for.

After Walters contacted city officials about removing the restriction that prevented homes being built on the golf course, Redlein, in the city attorney's office, was concerned "due to the prior history between Goecke and Walters."

Redlein spoke to several members of the City Council to suggest an independent report be generated by an engineer concerning safety issues, as well as an analysis concerning the value of the property.

The vote was delayed three times by the City Council. The first delay was because Goodman said staff members gave "inflammatory" briefings to council members.

Tarkanian asked Selby to commission an outside report. On July 8, Selby sent an e-mail to Goecke and David Mendenhall, the environmental manager at the plant, requesting they contact an outside engineering consultant.

With Goecke out sick, Mendenhall commissioned the report.

One of the consultants, David Pivetti, a senior vice president and engineer with HDR Engineering, contacted Goecke by cell phone for his input. "Goecke did tell Pivetti he should focus on the positive accomplishments of the odor control measures and cited the decline of odor complaints have fallen from 1,500 to zero in past years," according to the investigation.

But, the report concludes, "While it is clear that the Mayor, City Council and some City staff members were not happy with the edited version of the consultant report, it does appear to be what the City Manager requested to be submitted."